Tricycle



(-No ModeL)" P. E.- COLLINS.

TRIG YGLEM N0.Z59,099.

Patented June 6, 1882.

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fitter-27,90

Rs Photo umo w. Washington. D. C.

UNITED "STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL COLLINS, OF LYNN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-TWENTIEIH TO HULDAH J. DOWN ING, OF CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS.

TRICYCLE.

SPECIFICATIQN forming part'of Letters Patent No. 259,099, dated June 6 1882.

Application filed July 5, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUtL E. COLLINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and Commonwealth of lvIassachusetts,have invented a new and useful Improvementin Tricycles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class. of tricycles in which there are one driving and two trailing wheels. Its object is, first, to produce a tricycle suitable for carrying one or morepersons and provided with appurtenances so that the driving-power may be furnished by the whole number of riders jointly or by any number thereof less than the whole, the power being applied by the feet or hands while the operator or operators are standing or sitting at pleasure; and,second, to be easy of propulsion and capable of running at a high rate of speed without danger of toppling.

The invention consists in matters of construction and combination hereinafter fully described in connection with the drawings, and specially pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tricycle- The backbone D differs from the ordinary construction in having its front end project forward beyond the vertical diameter of the driving-wheel A. Secured to the axle of the driving-wheelA is a fork, E, which differs from the usual construction only in being provided witha slot, 11, and has a slotted boss, 1), upon each side thereof, through which the steeringbar It and the actuating-lever 0 respectively I operate, as shown in' Fig. 1. Upon each side of the driving-wheel, and secured to the axle thereof, is a gear-wheel, F, which meshes into thelarger gear-wheel G, pivoted to thefork E. To each of the gears G a lever, c, is attached,

as shown in Fig. 1. Said lever is constructed in two partsandswiveled together atd. Each of the levers c has its upper'end jointed to one of the curved levers c e, which in turn are fulcrumed to the forward end of the backbone D, and, reaching backward to the riders stand, they serve as handles by which to propel the machine. V

To propel the machine byfoot-power the rider mounts himself upon the saddle H, and, placing his feet upon the steps f, he operates and guides the machine in the usual way. In case, however, a second person rides, he steps upon the platform J, which at its rear end is jointed to the bars .K, and, reaching forward and upward, grasps the backbone D at some point near the fork E, as shown in Fig. 1. The weight of the riders is in this manner thrown forward onto the driving-wheel A. Standing upon the platform J, and grasping with his hands the levers e, an operator can easily propel the-machine alone or in conjunction with another who sits in the saddle; or, if a third rides, the levers 0 may be divided between them. The operation of steering the machine, if performed by the man in the saddle,is done in the usual way; if by the rider behind, it is effected by means of the IOdSJI, which extend along the levers e and hookinto slots a, made in the fork E.

In Fig. 1 the levers c are shown in connection with the gear-wheels G. This construction however, is not essential to the operation of my machine, as the lever may as well be jointed toa crank-arm extending from the axle of the driving-wheel A, in which case the gears may be removed altogether. The levers e have been thus far described as an ordinary stiff lever, and though the construction of my machine admits of such levers being used, still I have invented a method for modifying the sweep or distance traversed by the rear end of the levers, and, having found the same useful in connection with this invention, I proceed to describe the same, so that others canmake use J thereof when desired.

In using this device the lever is constructed in two parts, c i, (see Fig. 2,) and hinged together at 2. On the top of the lever, and on one side of the joint 2, is secured a boss, 3,

which serves to hold one end of the screw 4, the other end whereof screws into a nut arranged to rock and slide up and down in the box 5, which is secured to the lever t' on the other side of the joint 2. It will now beunderstood that by turning the screw 4 in one direction the arm of the lever is raised and by reversing the movement the arm is lowered. In order to more easily effect the turning of the screw 4, the head thereof is provided with a gear, 7, which meshes into a system of teeth out in the end of a lever, 8. Said lever Sis pivoted to the lever 17, as shown in Fig. 2, and has in one end thereof a slot, 14, in which plays the bent end of another lever, 9, also pivoted to the lever c by means of pin 10. It will now be understood that a movement of the screw 4 is efiected by means of the lever 9. I incorporate this into the tricycle by pivoting the lever i to the front end of the backbone I), as shown in Fig. 1. At each upward movement of the arm i the lever9 is arrested by a pin, a, projecting from the backbone D, and the end of the main lever i is then drawn upward by the screw 4, and a similar pin at a point farther down on the backbone D effects a reverse movement as the main lever goes downward; or this reverse movement may be eifected by holding the lever9 against the pin at until the reverse movement is accomplished by the downward throw of the main lever, at which movement the lever 9 may be released by the main lever. A device for this purpose is shown in Fig. 3. At each upward movement of the lever i i the lever 9 is locked in between the pin n and latch 12, and is there held till the downward sweep of the main lever, by means of the pin 13, lifts the latch 12 and lets out the lever 9, which then travels downward with the main lever i i.

Having described my invention and the operation thereof, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in atricycle, of the backbone D, operating-levers e e, driving-wheel A, and means, substantially as set forth, for connecting said levers c c with the driving-wheel A, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. In combination with the driving-wheel A, fork E, and levers c e, the steering-rods h, arranged substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a tricycle, the arrangement of a riders stand or platform, J, by suspending the same from rear arms, K K, to the backbone D at a point in front of or near the vertical diameter of the driving-wheel A, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. In combination, the articulated leveri i, the box 5, having an inside block adapted to rock and slide vertically, as set forth, the boss 3, and screw 4, all arranged to operate in combination, substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. In combination, the articulated leverii, the box 5, having an inside block adapted to rock and slide vertically, as set forth, the boss 3, screw 4, and means, substantially as shown, for turning the screw 4, as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereot'I have signed my name to this specification on this 30th day of June, 1881.

PAUL E. COLLINS.

Witnesses:

O. B. TU'r'rLE, H. J. BELL. 

